Rhode Island’s first black female state judge and a prominent Providence lawyer who took on tobacco and lead-paint companies have been recommended for the federal bench by Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse.

Reed and Whitehouse announced Monday they had chosen state Superior Court Judge Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson to fill a 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seat and John J. “Jack” McConnell Jr. to the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.

“We believe that Justice Thompson and Mr. McConnell are highly qualified and will make Rhode Island proud,” Reed and Whitehouse said in a news release. “They both possess strong legal backgrounds, a commitment to justice, and the intellect, temperament, and integrity to serve as federal judges. They both come from working, middle-class families and share a profound respect for the rule of law.”

Thompson’s and McConnell’s names have been forwarded to President Obama, who after a vetting process will make nominations for the Senate’s consideration. If confirmed, Thompson would take the seat that was vacated by Senior Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya. McConnell would replace U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres, who announced his retirement late last year.

Thompson, 57, put her name in for both the District and the 1st Circuit seats, inspired, she said at the time, by the fact that an African-American had not been appointed to either court and that only one woman has served on each.

“I guess the general theme of the country is change. I think it would be an opportunity for history to be made,” Thompson said. She said she is particularly interested in the courts’ roles in protecting civil liberties.

Thompson grew up in segregated South Carolina. Her great-grandfather, a plantation owner, bought her great-grandmother at a slave auction. They later fell in love and raised a family. Thompson came to Rhode Island to attend Pembroke College, then the female college of Brown University. She graduated from Brown after the two schools merged in 1973 and earned a law degree from Boston University Law School.

She returned to Rhode Island to represent the poor through Rhode Island Legal Services. She then opened a South Providence law firm while raising a family with now District Court Judge William C. Clifton. Her brother-in-law is Superior Court Judge Edward C. Clifton.

Thompson made history in Rhode Island in 1988, when Governor DiPrete appointed her to state District Court after she brokered the deal that secured the Narragansett Indian Tribe its land in Charlestown. At the time, District Court Judge Alton W. Wiley, who was also black, was the only other person of color on the state bench. She was named to Superior Court in 1997.

Thompson, a Democrat, said has been retracing her life from age 18 as part of the White House vetting process since being told of the recommendation to the six-judge court several weeks ago. That has involved submitting every decision and newspaper article available on the Internet, she said.

“Obviously, I’m very honored,” Thompson said, reached Monday in Washington County Superior Court. “I certainly hope everything works out.”

McConnell, 50, was born in Providence, where he spent his early years living in the former Valley View housing project after his father returned from the Korean War. Most of his childhood was spent in the Greenwood section of Warwick, where he attended Bishop Hendricken High School. He graduated from Brown University in 1980 and earned a degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

For the past 22 years, McConnell has worked as a trial lawyer with the firm now called Motley Rice LLC. He was one of the attorneys to represent 46 states that sued cigarette makers and helped negotiate the $264-billion settlement. He has also represented individuals harmed by asbestos, and challenged the treatment of developmentally disabled adults at the former Ladd School.

He represented Rhode Island in taking on lead-paint makers in a verdict that was overturned by the state Supreme Court. Most recently, he is representing the family of Hiu Lui “Jason” Ng, a Chinese national who died while in the custody of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, in a wrongful death suit brought in U.S. District Court.

“It’s sort of surreal,” said McConnell, of Providence, who learned of the recommendation while visiting his daughter’s dorm room at George Washington University Friday. “It’s just incredible the confidence they’ve put in me. I’m almost speechless. … I pray I do them justice.”

McConnell has been active in Democratic politics, serving as treasurer of the Rhode Island State Democratic Committee. He chairs Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline’s reelection campaign committee and was campaign chairman in Myrth York’s race for governor.

McConnell and his wife, Sara Shea McConnell, are major donors to Democratic political candidates, party warchests and liberal organizations nationwide. Over the past two decades, their contributions have approached $700,000, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. They have given tens of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Reed and Whitehouse, Mr. Obama and other presidential candidates.

Last year, the McConnells gave almost $160,000 to elect Democrats, including $77,000 to national party organizations that helped to finance the campaigns of presidential, Senate and House candidates, according to the Washington-based CRP. The McConnells gave a total of $15,500 to the individual presidential campaigns of Mr. Obama; now Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; former Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Records show Thompson gave $250 to Obama; Clifton gave $250 to Reed in 1992 and his law firm contributed $500 to Kennedy three years later.

The McConnells gave $8,800 to Reed’s reelection campaign. They gave $3,000 to reelect Rep. James R. Langevin and $4,600 to reelect Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, plus $5,000 more to the political action committee Kennedy operates to give money to fellow Democratic candidates. McConnell gave $8,400 to Whitehouse’s 2006 election campaign and has since given $3,500 to his PAC fund.

McConnell said he is proud of the people he has supported and that his political involvement is just one aspect of a life that also includes civic activities. “I hope people will look at my 25 years as a trial lawyer, attempting to do justice.”

kmulvane@projo.com